


Secret Santa 2014

by SpicyPepper



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Based on a Tumblr Post, Cronus is Elsa, Elements of Cheese, Fire Powers, First Time, Flushed Romance | Matesprits, Frozenstuck, Homestuck AU, Homestuck Secret Santa, Humanstuck, Ice Powers, Kankri is fire!Elsa, M/M, Magic, Mild Conflict, Not Musical, Other character mentioned - Freeform, Trolls, Water Sex, admantis, austuck - Freeform, frozen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-13
Updated: 2014-12-13
Packaged: 2018-03-01 08:40:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,921
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2766785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpicyPepper/pseuds/SpicyPepper
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cronus has finally settle into his powers and is also settling into the role of king. But when two young men show up at his palace with similar powers, he finds that his interests in being king might be compromised.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Secret Santa 2014

**Author's Note:**

> Homestuck Secret Santa 2014! Yay! Finally finished. For the amazing [admantis](http://admantist.tumblr.com/) on Tumblr and their amazing Homestuck AU, Frozenstuck.  
> I should point out that I've only watched that movie once and I was only half paying attention, so this should be interesting.

 You smile at the people around you. In the several months since you have returned to your kingdom, you had managed to restore the political alliance between yours and several other kingdoms that had broken down since Dualscar’s death. Whilst once you had been nervous about talking to the diplomats and representatives, now you take them in your stride and feel rather comfortable with your duties. You enjoy them in fact.

 You look at the chair beside you, the one that once seated his Lady mother. Eridan is sat there now. He looks bored but settled. The prince was dressed in fine violet velvets, his doublet embroidered with the Ampora sigil. His sleeves and trousers were black silk but he would not remove that ridiculous scarf from his neck. The bi-shaded rag from Meenah’s young sister clashed with his clothes but he refused to take it off.

 You pout at it, but there is little you can do. Eridan has grown moody is the last few months and whether he is not used to sharing the attention or the fact that he is finally going through puberty is something you have not quiet decided yet. Winter is upon you, and although you rather look forward to being in your element, literally, you cannot help but feel nervous. What happens if you lose control again? What happens if you cause another blizzard in the height of natural winter? The people wouldn’t survive that, they barely made it through that the first time.

 Your thoughts are interrupted by the representative of the Makara family, Tavros Nitram. He’s about Eridan’s age but is smaller and chubbier. He looks horrendously nervous and you cannot fathom why he was picked for such an important duty.

 “Sire, the, uh, Makara family w-would, um, have wished to j-join you today. R-recent pr-problems with civil, uh, unrest, that is, have m-made it, um, impossible to, um, b-be here themselves. Sir. Sire.” He stammered, his hands fidgeting behind him.

 You actually feel sorry for this kid. He shouldn’t be here and as he stammers through his announcement, you glance back over at Eridan. The little shit is smirking in amusement at the kid. You lose track of Nitram’s slow speech of how the Makara’s have yet to come to a formal decision on the matter and insist on an extension until they can visit in person again.

 Eridan’s ears look different.

 Gone is the rounded pink ears, they look more greyish and pointed in at least two places, possibly three. The grey colour is spreading down to his jawline, possibly lower. You feel a sinking sensation in the pit of your stomach, like when you hit Eridan with your powers, all those years ago, or when your parents died or when you were discovered. You suck in a deep breath, it’s the light reflecting off his scarf is all and you’ve never paid that much attention to his ears, no one does.

 You suck in a breath.

 Conceal. Don’t feel.

 You turn fully to Nitram, more noticeably than you intended. He is still speaking though and you watch as your advisor, Mituna Captor, glances at the clock openly. He’s a prick but he’s good at what he does.

 “If that is a-alright with his, uh, Highness.”

 You look at him contemplatively. Captor makes no moves, which means he thinks the announcement is sound enough. You lean forwards.

 “I see no problem with that, the Makara’s have been reasonable allies before, and previous problems between my Lord father and his Lordship, the Grand Highblood, have been annulled since Dualscar’s death. I see no harm in his needing more time on the decision though.”

 Nitram visibly swallows before straightening and bowing “Th-thank you, Sire.”

 He turns and walks stiffly away. You sigh with relief at being rid of him.

 As the next diplomat is sent in, you slouch for a few minutes. Two of the knights have young squires standing by them across the room. They both looked no less than ten and completely bored out of their minds. One was actually pouting, his little bottom lip sticking out.

 You smile to yourself and let your hand lift slowly. The power travels through your fingers and the icy fractals come into existence and flutter above him. He let it dance across the room and bounce off the boy’s noses. They looked up one by one and watched as the magic sparkled and splashed, creating snow around them. They giggle and jump, clasping at the snowflakes drifting onto their heads.

 The knights notice and look at you, probably confused. They then relax after a few seconds and the squires are left to play with the little flakes falling on their heads.

 “So, it’s true then.” Comes a clear, educated voice.

 The next diplomats come in. They pull back their hoods to reveal two males, about the same age as you and your brother. They both have black wavy hair, borderline curly, and are both are dressed in charcoal travel clocks with bronze clasps. Both also wore thick black gloves.

 The most noticeable thing about these boys was not what they were wearing, but their grey skin. Their yellow eyes have little chips of red and two nubby horns stuck out from their heads, the same colour as yours.

 You stiffen and straighten instantly, taking in a sharp breath. Magic runs through their blood, the same way it runs through yours. You shake slightly as you stand. The king’s guard tense as they walk past, some people visible set away.

 The older looks concerned, and although he is walking behind his brother, he seems more knowledgeable, more experienced. He seems to be ready to defend his brother. The younger has a look of someone who’s a fighter, but a little twitch in his mouth and his jaw reminds you of Eridan when he is putting on a brave face.

 They stop rather close to the throne steps, pretty much everyone who comes to visit stops a lot further back. They know their place and where they should be. These two have some guts coming that close. You don’t care to correct them though.

 Eridan is also standing now. Mituna steps forwards.

 “How dare you step so close to the throne?! Do you not know your rightful place?! Show some respect!” he shouts at them, lisp coming through clearly with the volume.

 You don’t back him though. You step forwards slowly, careful of your footsteps. Once you are standing in front of them. They both have an overbite and their ears are simply pointed, in opposed to your fins. They are nearly identical and if they had been closer in age, you would have thought them twins. The older has slightly curlier hair but that is about the only difference say the slightly heavier lids he has.

 The elder reaches out his gloved hand and takes it gently and you are shocked by the heat coming through. He lifts it and slowly pressed his forehead against your hand. It’s a bold gesture. Commoners are expected to kneel unless pardoned, diplomats must bow until pardoned and even royal families are supposed to at least bow twice, in greeting and departure. This form of greeting was reserved for those who follow religious orders.

 No one but the Makara’s do that now.

 And these were not Makara’s.

 He lifts his head sharply and looks you straight in the eye “Kankri Vantas, this is my brother, Karkat. We’ve come very far to see if the stories that you had gifted by the God Tiers were true. That you have the ability to manipulate snow and ice.”

 “Kankri… then what you’ve heard is true. But you haven’t explained why you are here?”

 He looks down, almost shyly “Because, as you can see, we have the same blessing upon us.”

 He’s shaking and you feel a pang of sorrow for him. He’s petrified. You look towards Eridan, who has not moved. For the first time in your life, you cannot read him. Mituna steps towards you, you cannot see his eyes through his mess of hair but you can tell that does not approve of this interaction.

 You take a deep breath “Mituna, how many more appointments are there for today?”

 “Seven, Sire.”

 “And are any of those of the upmost importance?”

 “No Sire.”

 “Good, move all my remaining appointments to tomorrow. I will tend to the Vantas brothers today.”

 You can hear your adviser sputter, but he does not argue. He nods and steps towards the brothers, bow and gestures for them to follow him. You go to Eridan as the room clears. Eridan looks slightly put out by the whole experience.

 “Cronus… what are-?”

 “We will talk with them about how much they know about the magic bound to our family. I’m sure I’ve heard the name ‘Vantas’ before, but I’ll ask them about that.”

 “But wasn’t he-“

 Mituna returned.

 “We’ll talk about it later, right now we have to go to the meeting room. I wonder if they can teach me more of how to control my powers. Eridan, this is going to be brilliant! I’m not the only one out there like this. Someone else finally understands!”

 You leave Eridan, who looks completely despondent.

❅ 

 The meeting room was large and bland, designed for no distractions. You don’t like it here, but you feel it’s the best room for this particular meeting and you are definitely interested in this meeting.

 By the time you’ve arrived in the meeting room, Mituna has taken their robes and they have been seated at the long table. Kankri is wearing a plain black doublet with a red scarf wrapped loosely around his neck, with a strange broach. Karkat is dressed in a similar manner but without the scarf. Instead of wearing a broach, he wore a necklace with the same pendent.

 Kankri stands as you and Eridan enter. Karkat remains where he is. You excuse him and all three of you sit down.

 In this light, which is more natural, Kankri looks considerably more real. His grey skin is darker than yours and you can see a hint of red in his cheeks, whilst yours has a hint of violet. His startling yellow and red eyes actually look intimidating, despite the gentleness of his expression, like the demon eyes who’ve always been taught to fear.

 He smiles at you as you ask “So, what are you doing here? It couldn’t have been to see if some rumour or tale was true or not? Especially if you probably know it’s true.”

 “Cro? They’re here because-“ Eridan starts. You glare at him.

 “Eridan, do not interrupt.” You warn him.

 “Well, to be honest, we were hoping for some advice actually.”

 “Advise on what?”

 A calculated pause “How to control these powers.”

 You heart sinks. You were hoping they would be able to help you, so you could learn to control your power more to prevent you from freezing your kingdom over again. What if it’s worse this time? You cannot help feel anger at them, it’s pointless, but you cannot help feel like its some form of personal attack.

 He looks increasingly worried and you realise that you must look at least disappointed.

 “In all truth, I don’t really know how to control my powers all too well myself.”

 “What? But you freed your people from the blizzard they were trapped in.”

 “A blizzard I trapped them in.”

 “But… we…” he falls silent, clearly thrown by this news. They have probably travelled far in hope of help from someone who actually understands their situation. They must be devastated that their hopes and dreams were built on false foundation.

 “That’s not the reason they’re here!” Eridan shouts. He stands up and looks furiously at you “Come on Cro, don’t tell me you haven’t figured out who they are yet!”

 “What are you talking about Eridan?! How dare you act this way in front of guests!”

 “Fuckin’ hell Cro! The name Vantas is synonymous with treason! I know you locked yourself up in your room for fuckin’ year, but jeez, surely you know about them. Kankri Vantas was the real name of the Signless Sufferer. He nearly incited war amongst the six kingdoms and was executed for his crimes against us, so these two must be his sons.” He jabs a finger at them.

 “What?!”

 Karkat stands abruptly, knocking the chair he was sitting on back “Incited war my ass! Those fuckers treated their people like shit! They treat them like they are slaves and then expect them to believe every work those righteous bastards decided to rant out, even when most of the shit was coming out their ass. Fuck that bullshit! If you generally believe father was committing treason then you are no better those fuckers who were in power at the time! Father was a good man, they were scared of him because he told the truth!”

 “Ha!” Eridan says dramatically “He hid behind and cloak and mask, he was the scared one. A coward who hid his face so he could live on when the troubles started and escape when it got too rowdy. He was a pathetic coward who hid behind lies!”

 Karkat is suddenly striding around the table at him. You stand and step in front of him. You’ve nearly lost Eridan once, you won’t allow that to happen again. The younger Vantas is not fazed and is removing his glove as he moves. Suddenly fire bursts in front of you and you fall backwards as you scramble to get away from it.

 Fire is flowing from the teenager’s hand. He is suddenly in front of the now silent Eridan, who looks like a deer caught in a miner’s lamp. He’s twitching but does not move. Karkat moves right up to his face.

 He hisses “Our father hid for the same reason as your Lord brother… and you too for that matter.”

 Eridan looks about to cry. It wouldn’t surprise you if he did. The whole time, Kankri has not moved from his place. He has this resigned disappoint in his eyes. Finally, he sighs and lifts to his feet.

 “Karkat, don’t frighten the prince any further. Your triggering him and his Lord brother, it’s not appropriate.” He turns to you as you slowly stand “I apologise for my brother’s outburst. He is very protective of our father. We loved him very dearly and to watch him die in such as way was horrendous, so hearing him being spoken about in such an ill manner is… upsetting to say the least. We’ll leave you now, sorry to have wasted your time.”

 He walks to his brother, who is pulling his glove back on, and gently guides him to the door by his shoulders. Before they exit though, Kankri turns.

 “I would like to express though that our father was not a madman, or a rabble rouser. He did not want war, he hated violence. He was raised by a former nun and knew only a religious life. He simply wanted to give the people a voice. You should know better than anyone how far you are willing to go to protect the people you love, even if you have never met them.”

 He turns and the two of them step out.

 As they do, Eridan collapses. He sucks in a huge breath and starts to sob quietly. Eridan cries easily, he was always a weak minded child. You scramble after them though, you may never meet another person with powers like you again, and you cannot let this opportunity pass.

 “Wait!” you burst through the door and the Vantas brothers turn “You’re right. I know when I lost control that my first thought was of my people. I’ve never met most of them, yet I wanted to save them from myself. Maybe we can come to an agreement.”

 Kankri turns to face you fully “We can teach each other. I know a little about my powers, you will probably know something different, we can help each other find out more. It might be the only opportunity we get to master this once and for all.”

They look at each other “Is it alright if we consider this further? It’s not exactly like our families have a great history, it might cause you problems politically.”

 “Alright, but please do it over dinner. And feel free to spend the night. You must be tired from your journey, you’ve probably travelled far.”

 “Yes, you could say that. Alright, we accept your offer.”

 “Excellent! I’ll have you escorted to your rooms and have someone send for you for dinner. And I apologise for my brother’s actions. Regardless of what you’re father’s done, you are not him. I would to be put under the same reputation as _my_ father.”

 “Thank you.”

❅ 

 You enter Eridan’s room without knocking. He jumps out of his skin, nearly knocking half the stuff on the dresser to the floor. He throws the small foundation tub and brush at the mirror and looks at you in complete horror.

 You frown at him and close the door sharply behind you.

 “So that’s what he meant by you hiding as well. How long have you been hiding _this_ from me?”

 “Cro, let me explain. I had to hide it, I was afraid that you might freak out if you saw. I didn’t want to upset you whilst you’ere doin’ so well. Fuck Cro, I didn’t mean to leave it this long. I was afraid!”

 You grab a handful of chin and snap his head around to look at the vanity. The foundation is gone from his bath and he has yet to cover half of his face. His neck is bare also and you finally understand why he has been wearing that ugly scarf of his.

 You should have noticed sooner really. The change in the way his styles his hair, to cover his changing ears, the tiny horns you can see growing now that his hair is limp and unstyled. The purple tint to his normally dark blue irises. The way he dresses himself has changed, covering up more skin, wearing thin gloves and buttoned cuffs and collars, whilst once they had been loose.

 The foundation only hid what he couldn’t dress up.

 Tears are forming on his lashes and you can feel yourself get madder at him. Sure, put on the fucking waterworks little brother. It worked with papa, it’s bound to work with big brother. He cries at fucking everything, you wish he’d grow up already. He’s nearly eighteen for crying out loud!

 “Afraid? Afraid of what, looking like your brother? Or looking like a freak? For fuck’s sake Eridan! When were you planning to tell me? When you finally felt like you couldn’t look more like a monster or when you couldn’t hide it anymore?! Huh! Tell me!”

 “Cro, I knew you wouldn’t understand. It’s not that, it’s not, it’s really not. I am kinda scared of lookin’ like you because I’ve been human all my life and I’ve never had to pretend and I don’t wanna change that!”

 “And you don’t think I’ve never wanted to not hide! Imagine what it’s like for me, I’ve had to always deal with this you know! I’ve never had to not hide under recently! Why can’t you do the same?!”

 “’Cause I ain’t the same as you Cro! I’m not as strong as you! I don’t think I can control any powers because I can’t handle shit! Fuck! I’m so scared! Cro, what am I goin’ to do!? I want to be normal, I don’t want to hurt anyone!”

 He sobs and gurns until the makeup is running and snort is bubbling out of his nose like a child. You give up. You can’t deal with him right now. It’s like you’ve never had to face all this, and he wasn’t there the whole time.

 “What the fuck ever. I want you to wipe that shit from your face and be down at the dinner room in an hour as you really are. End of.”

 You straighten and leave the room. Half way down the hall you realise how drained you are. Dealing with Eridan was probably the most exhausting thing you ever do. You know him better than anyone, yet you hardly know him at all.

 You are completely tired of his bullshit attitude. You’re kind of glad that Karkat scared him. You love your brother more than anything in the entire world, yet you could throttle him more of the time.

 Your breath hitches when you hear the crackle of ice forming. You turn around and see half the corridor was cover in a thin layer of frost. Panic sets in and you will the frost away to no avail. You need to relax.

 Conceal.

 Don’t feel.

 Conceal.

 Don’t feel.

 “You seem to be upset.”

 You turn to see Kankri walking towards you. He hasn’t changed but you can see he has bathed by the dampness of his hair. He steps forward.

 “One thing our father managed to teach us was that our powers react to our emotions. The more stressed or upset we are, the more they react to that.” He holds out his bare hand and the ice melts away as if heated by the sun.

 “Ha! You don’t have _my_ brother to deal with. Besides, what about your brother losing his temper at Eri? Why are we not burnt to a crisp?” you laugh.

 He smiles brightly at you “That is something no one could ever figure out. He was a complete mystery to father. Karkat is unique in every sense of the word, angry but caring for those he loves.”

 You laugh, reminds you of yourself once. You’re not so angry any more though.

 “He certainly seems like a handful, even more so than my brother.”

 “He can be sometimes, but Karkat is really a good lad, he’s just scared. You can imagine the damage our powers can do if we weren’t able to control them properly. That’s why we came to you, we were so sure you could fix our situation.”

 “I’m sorry to be a disappointment. If only I had known there was others, I might have been able to figure out more about my own powers to help you.”

 “How did you find out what you knew? Our father left us a book containing details about the basics, but for the most part he was a very calm person who interacted with people outside his inner circle, which included his adopted mother, best friend and our mother. He never had to develop any controls outside the basic needs because he never had to.”

 “So, he never even knew about his parents or where the powers came from?”

 “Not as far as we’re aware.”

 “Gosh, that sounds even worse than my situation. Would you believe that we learned from trolls?”

 “Really?”

 “Yes, they told me that fear causes our powers to grow out of control, but love can help us master it. That’s how this kingdom is still standing. Without my brother, this palace and the town surrounding it would be buried in a permanent ice age.

 “He put himself in danger to protect me, even after I almost killed him. I ran away because I couldn’t bare hurting him any more than I already had. I just… I just love him too much. I wouldn’t survive losing him as well.”

 “Brothers have a habit of doing that, protecting us when we don’t deserve it. Karkat, well, you’ve seen what he could be like. I dread bring him to market when there’s a sale on.”

 You nearly choke you laugh that suddenly. You could picture the two of them at a market stall with the younger screaming at the top of his lungs as he argued over the price of something simple like apples at a reasonable price. He could also see the young man before him just standing embarrassed as he did.

 Kankri chuckles lightly beside you. You like that sound, it reminds you of Eridan’s wet nurse before she retired. You can feel the warm in her laugh in Kankri’s.

 You like him.

 You can see him staying for a while.

❅ 

 Several months pass and you find yourself with increasing control over your powers as you do. Between the Vantas brothers and your own knowledge, you manage to research everything you can during that time. You go from being a monster with a dangerous power you have little to no control over to being a king with a substantial control over his powers.

 The Vantas’ also progress. They seldom practiced their powers unless they were within close range of water and in a stone room. Thankfully the armoury can hold both. You notice a friendship forming between Eridan and Karkat as well.

 Eridan also develops the same abilities as you. His appearance isn’t the only thing that had changed, he could control the ice that danced from his fingers and he handles it with more confidence than you. Karkat and he spend a lot of time together, discussing their powers and probably some other things that teenagers like to pretend they don’t talk about.

 You also seem to be spending a lot of time with Kankri. He is surprisingly educated, with an interest in books, politics and religion. He also shares your interest for other cultures and shares with you in stories of their travels. He tends to go on sometimes, but it’s a small flaw.

 He is also very affectionate, sitting close to you or hugging you when he greeted you. He links his arm around yours whilst you walk and every now and then will lean his head on your shoulder as you talk about your problems.

 He’s a little too affectionate sometimes. Although he displays a lot of these interactions with Karkat, and even some with Eridan, you cannot help like you shouldn’t encourage this behaviour. You’re a king and not currently engaged, so there would be no problem with that. Eridan is the next in line for the throne, so it doesn’t matter if you didn’t produce an heir yourself, so long as there was an heir. There would be no problems with courting Kankri… just that he’s not of royal blood.

 Worse still, he’s not noble. Or political. Or even religious. He’s not just a commoner, he’s the son of an enemy of the state. A dead enemy of the state, but still a threat. You cannot bear the thought of what would happen to either of them if you were caught having an affair with someone who was not of noble status.

 You can’t have a coup. Not with Eridan to care for. He would be killed, alongside you.

 You look at Kankri as he rests his head on your shoulder and reads to you. He’s fond of that, especially when it’s his father’s journal. The man had some good points actually. He seemed to see the world from a different perspective.

 You have been jumpy, got up and moved every other minute, even going as far to actively move to sit away from him. Eventually he’s hip to hip with you again. You eventually move your hand and gently nudge him away. He simply adjusts his position, as if trying to make you more comfortable. Sadly, that’s exactly what he’s doing. You hate to admit it, but he is generally as innocent as he seems.

 You’re at a loss. You need to push him away before he gets any ideas. You cannot let him become the cause Eridan be taken away from you. You smile at him before standing.

 “We’re going to have the leave it there for now, Kankri. I have some duties to attend to right now.”

 “Oh, alright. We’ll continue some other time.” He looks disappointed. He straightens up and closes the book after he marks the page. Sitting politely, he waits as you leave.

 You walk down to the hallway to the library where you know Mituna is. He is sat at one of the tables, making notes of one of the maps and a history tome at his side. You suck in a breath and pull up a seat up beside him. You flop down heavily beside him.

 He looks at you slowly before you breathe in and said “As my king’s adviser, I would also expect you to go into the more personal details of the king’s duties. You understand the laws and policies of the land better than I do.”

 “That I do sire, as part of my duties to the kingdom.”

 “Good, I was just checking.”

 There is silence for a minute before he spoke “Permission to speak freely, sire.”

 “Granted.”

 “Your ‘friendship’ with Kankri Vantas has developed rather unexpectedly. The people have begun to suspect that there is something more between the two of you already. There is no harm in this of course. You would not be the first to have a physical affair. Your Lord father had an affair himself once, before he wedded your Lady mother. There is no harm in it in anyway.”

 “But…?”

 “But, nothing more should come of it.”

 “In what way?”

 “Once the time has come for you to find a bride and produce an heir, if you decide that, then he must not interfere in that relationship. He must also _not_ become that relationship.”

 “You believe he will?”

 He glances at you, calculated “I don’t see it not happening, if you could have it that way, sire.”

 “You think-“

 “I believe that you might feel a little more comfortable in his company than you might even yet realise. So long as you don’t let it get further than a physical relationship, then you can continue as you are. But I doubt that you will be able to maintain it as simply an affair, so it is probably best that you do not pursue it.”

 “You think I would pursue something more than sex and company from him.”

 “With time, yes.”

 You stare at him analytically for a few minutes before concluding that you have no idea of what ease to say to him, or ask for that matter. You sigh, stand and thank him curtly before leaving.

 There’s only one thing to do then.

 Kill it before it has the chance to bloom.

 It’s nearly time for evening meal when you manage to work up the courage to see Kankri. He’s in his room with Karkat, buttoning his doublet and smiling at you as you come in.

 “Good evening!” you say a little too stiffly “Karkat, do you mind if I talk with your brother in private?”

 If it had been anyone else you wouldn’t have asked, but you’ve come to learn that Karkat has the same amount of respect for authority as Eridan has for the Serkets. It’s the in minus numbers and unlike Eridan, who can be petty and childish at time and at those times could be easily manipulated, Karkat does not care if you are the Angel of Double Death himself, he will give you an ear full. Asking him politely or just getting his broke to tell him is the best way to get him round. You suppose he’s had to be that way.

 “Sure thing. See you at dinner Kankri.”

 “Alright, remember what we were discussing. Okay?”

 “Okay, okay. See ya!” he waves before walking away and closing the heavy door, which clicks loudly as he leaves. The loud noise makes you flinch. How could this happen to you? After all you’ve been through, wasn’t enough torture to lose your parents, bury your kingdom under snow after hiding all your life. Nearly losing your brother.

 “Ha… Kankri, maybe if I just… hm. This is not going to be easy for either of us, I’ll take a seat if you don’t mind.”

 “Sure.” He smiles and gestures at the bed beside him. You take it but make sure to face him properly and at the same time keep some distance between the two of you. He smiles and waits patiently. You swallow, you’re mouth suddenly gone dry.

 “Kankri… I would like to know you’re intentions here are? You’re real intentions I mean.”

 “To learn about our powers. I don’t see how-“

 You hold up a hand to pause him “I worded that badly, what I really mean is with me? What do you feel about me?”

 His face goes that scarlet of his blood. He stutters “I have no idea what you mean. I mean, I understand that we have become close to each other, but there is nothing wrong with that. Karkat and Prince Eridan have become close as well, they seem to be really good friends in fact. I don’t see how there could be a problem about that, unless you think there is something ill about my intentions. I can assure you that I have no ill will for yourself or the young Prince if that’s what you’re insinuating.”

 “It’s not that Kankri. It’s just…” oh for fuck’s sake, you’re a king, you’re supposed to be good at this shit. You suck in a breath and decide you might as well go for the jugular “I don’t feel like it’s just a friendship you want is all.”

 The horror that clouds his features makes your gut drop “I feel as if you would have more if it was offer to you and as much as that would be okay for you, it’s ain’t for me. I can’t be seen with you in that way because it’s not appropriate for me to court a commoner and, worst still, a child of an enemy of state.”

 He bows his head and starts breathing heavily. His normally still hands are fidgeting in his lap, it’s as if he is trying to hold himself back. You keep speaking.

 “I feel that you have not considered the recklessness of any relationship that may or may not form between us.” You reach out and take his closest hand “I wouldn’t mind that form of company, don’t get me wrong, but you want more than a physical relationship and that is simply not possible.”

 He rips his fingers out from you grip as if you were the one with fire power and for a second you think you might have hurt him in your upset. Instead he stands abruptly and strides to the door, takes the latch and opens the door sharply.

 “If that’s how you felt m’Lord, then you should have stated sooner.” He’s crying and still refuses to look at you. You can make out Karkat beside the door.

 Standing, you walk over to him “I hope you understand you can still be friends Kankri.”

 “I understand m’Lord, you made yourself _perfectly_ clear.” He hisses.

 You flinch and want to say more but the words die in your mouth. You sigh and step out of the room. As you do, Karkat rushes into the room and you can make out him saying “What the fuck just happened?” as you storm down the hall.

❅ 

 Kankri doesn’t arrive for dinner.

 Karkat does.

 And he is hella pissed.

 The solar is chilly with the winter wind and Eridan is sat already, waiting for his meal with a cup of wine in his hand. Karkat practice tackles the doors open and stomps in. You stand and wish that you hadn’t.

 He comes at you with the force of a hurricane, smoke bellowing out of his mouth and nostrils. He swings his arm and slaps you hard across the face. He has a lot of force behind his arms and is considerably stronger than you and Eridan. He spins around with the force of the hit and seems to have planned for that because he promptly storms back out the room without pause.

 Your cheek burns with the blow, and possibly with the touch of fire he’s applied to his hand because when you look at the window, the dark reflection does not hide the deep red print suddenly appearing on your cheek.

 Snow starts to gather on the windows.

❅ 

 Kankri spends very little time with you now, and all the time he does spend with you is in silence, with Karkat. Even the younger brother is spending less time with Eridan and look he gives you when you mention it is enough to show he knows it’s your fault.

 The snow has settled well on the fields, even though it is nowhere near as deep as it had been when you caused it. The whiteness is creates makes the place seem cleaner and fresh. You don’t feel liberated by it though, although you don’t feel fear of it either.

 You sit atop of a silver destrier, which nickers and whines. Eridan is down in the meadow with the rest of the violet groups hunting party. As tradition of the Ampora family, the hunting party was split into two groups, the violet and blue groups; the colour of your family sigil.

 You scan the field and notice among the trees is Karkat and Kankri. They are not particularly interested in the hunting for fun aspect, but both seem to be very observant. Probably had to be to survive. You can spot them a mile off, both are considerably warm and their dark coursers are considerably calmer than everyone else is because they are so warm.

 Karkat seemed to have taken a liking to his black horse a while ago and was sneaking it chopped carrots and apples when he thought no one was looking. The dark bay Kankri was mounted on was her brother if you remember correctly. He was a lot less energetic and seemed happy to kick up a patch of snow and chew the fresh grass underneath.

 Mituna coughs. His son, Sollux, is with Karkat, and the two seem to also be getting along fine. For a grumpy shit, the kid seems to make friends easily. You look at Mituna as he guides his horse closer.

 “Are you alright m’Lord?”

 “As I’ll ever be.”

 He smirks before saying “Sollux told me that the younger Vantas slapped you. Is that true m’Lord?”

 You pause for a second, judging whether to tell him or not “It is.”

 “You should have his hand for that.”

 “I know. But I can’t help but feel like it’ll cause a bad situation to become worse.”

 “As you please m’Lord.”

 He trots off, his cream horse looking almost yellow against the snow. You watch as he goes over to his son and the young Vantas. Sollux speaks with his father before looking at Karkat, who nods and says something in reply. Mituna turns his yellow horse and they all canter off away from the hunting party. It leaves just Kankri there and you find yourself damning Mituna for giving you such space.

 You swallow and walk your horse over to Kankri. He is looking out after his brother as you arrive beside him. You want to reach out and touch his shoulder but he ignores you until you clear your throat.

 “Hello, Kankri.”

 “Good afternoon, your Highness.”

 “I… uh, wanted to ask to you about what you and your brother were planning to do after the winter has passed.”

 “Karkat and I have decided to return north to our home. We might even do so before the new year.”

 “Are you serious?!”

 “Yes, my Lord.”

 “But that won’t give you much time. Come on, you can stay until after the worst of the winter. It’s going to be a hard winter and with you heading north, you might not survive the journey.”

 “I didn’t realise you house such concern for us.” He says almost bitterly.

 “You know I do! Look, I understand that I handle the situation badly, but you have to understand-“

 “That your duty is to your kingdom. I understand fully.” He snaps.

 “Like fuck you do! Otherwise you wouldn’t be giving me the cold shoulder. Fucking hell, no wonder you cannot control your powers, you’re a moody shit!”

 He turns to look at you, his face red with anger. Eyes glowing in rage “How dare you?! I’m the moody one?! _I’m_ the moody one!? You and your brother have spent your entire lives getting what you wanted! You have never once been told _no_ in your entire lives, have you?! And when you want something but can’t have it, you blame it on someone else as if their feelings don’t matter in any way! Well tough, if you don’t like someone being honest with you, _fine_! Just don’t expect _me_ to be that person!”

 He turns the horse and gallops away into the trees. The route he is going is into the mountains. The route you once took to run away for all your problems.

 You turn your own horse and charge after him.

❅ 

 The weather changes rapidly as you chase after him. If it wasn’t for the freshly fallen snow, you wouldn’t be able to follow him, but soon the woods become lighter and snowflakes fall from a darkened sky. You lose sight of his tracks.

 You keep heading onwards, hoping, praying, that you will find him before the worst of the weather hits. There’s a storm coming, like the one you caused. It comes quickly but not suddenly.

 The wind picks up and the flakes turn into sheets of snow flying through the air like hail. You shield your face the best you can but it still hurts. The horse is being easily spooked now and is no longer running. You start to think about turning back when you spot a dark spot in the snow. It’s horse shaped. Horse without a rider shaped.

 You gallope toward it. The dark bay Kankri had been riding is stood, shivering, nudging at Kankri’s body. The young man is curled up on his side. The snow around him had melted and was seeping into his clothes. He looked frightened and pathetic. You jump down and reach out for his pulse.

 You find one and your own starts up again.

 “Kankri, if you’re awake, please listen to me. We have to get out of here, that water will cool soon and you will freeze. We need to find shelter.”

 “Where are we? Where’s Karkat?” he says groggily, which makes you wonder how long he’s been lying here like this.

 “We’re too far from the castle. We need to find shelter somewhere around here. I think there’s a cave around here with some rock pools in them. We can rest there for the night.”

 You pick him up with a struggle, amazed that he is almost burning, and place him on the back of his horse. The courser nickers in protest but calms. You take both reigns and walk them through the snow. The dark rise of a cliff is in front of you and you manage to push the snow around you to protect all of you.

 The cave is a little further off than you remember but it is still there. You enter it with the horse. The clopping of their hoofs echoes with the whistling of the wind. Around the bend there is a large opening on the other side. You know that trappers will sometimes spend the night here in the spring but there is no one here now. There is a wood pile and a cooking stand, although no pot is there anymore. The cave is dark and blue and there are three large pools in the middle. They are rippling slightly with the wind but it was calm and cold and silent otherwise.

 You walk the horses over and gently bring Kankri down. He’s boiling to the touch still and you can see that his clothes are already dry. The horse is actually sweating where was lying.

 You don’t see the need to undress him but remove his clock. You fold it and place it flat against the floor and lay him on top of it. He’s panting and sweating badly you realise. You dab his brow and wonder how to light the fire. You were… never actually taught how to do this. Or survive on your own in the wilderness.

 Kankri mutters beside you and you resign yourself to a cold night.

 The hours go by slowly and you can tell the storm is still going outside by the howl of the wind into the cave. Several times you think you cannot hear it anymore when you lift your head to hear it still going quietly. You had fallen asleep you realise and the deafness of waking up had given you a false help.

 Your ass is numb and you shiver. You can handle the cold, or at least you thought you could, but you’re tired and upset and you’re powers are little to no use when you are like this. You can’t stop that storm outside and you can’t stop Kankri from boiling himself to death in his upset. You’re useless. A shitty friend, a shitty brother, a shitty king and you regret hurting Kankri the way you did because of a selfish reason.

 You could have made it work. You’re a fucking king for crying out loud. If anyone can do what they want, it’s you. You could have taken Kankri as your lover, as your partner. It wouldn’t have matter if you had put your foot down on the matter. You could have made it work. Eridan and Kankri and his little brother could have made it work.

 You drift off again.

 When you wake up again, it’s to heat and the sound of a fire. You can smell the wood burning and open your eyes. Kankri is sat next to you. He’s robe is draped over you, you realise. You sit up.

 “Kankri…”

 “Why didn’t you take the robe, you needed it more than I did.” He says with a bite to his tone.

 “I wanted you to be safe. Look, it may not seem like it to you Kankri, but I do care.”

 “If you care so much, why did you insult me like that?”

 “I didn’t mean to insult you.”

 “Didn’t you?” he snaps “Because it certainly seems like that to me. You say that you wouldn’t mind me being a common _whore_ because you don’t want a relationship with me and then act as if it’s my fault when I act, in _my_ opinion, rather _appropriately_!”

 “I didn’t say you were a common whore.” You shout as you stand. He’s really starting to piss you off with his attitude. He doesn’t give a shit about the consequences to you. To your brother. He has a brother too, he should understand!

 “You might as well have said it!”

 “Why the _fuck_ am I even still talking to you about this?! It shouldn’t even fucking matter what your opinion is. I’m a king, what the fuck does it matter if you don’t like it! Tough!”

 He stands “I cannot believe I actually thought you were a decent person! You are just as pig ignorant and self-centred as every other capitalist, fucking lord out there! My father should not have died on the flogging post! It should have been your father! Maybe then you would realise how fucking _unfair_ life is!”

 “You fucking bastard! He deserved what he got! Born a traitor, die a traitor!”

 Kankri screams. Suddenly his hands ignite and flames are flickering up his arms and burning his clothes. He swings at you and you snarl as you grab him by the throat and swing him around with all your might. He lands on the ground and you go to punch him when he grabs your shoulder and the heat is impossibly painful. You scream and jump back, clutching at your arm. You throw your robe off before collapsing and hissing.

 Suddenly he’s beside you, his hands are pulling yours away and you roll away crying. You don’t want him touching you. He’ll hurt you more.

 “Oh God! What have I done?! Oh no, no, no no no no no no!” you hear him chanting. There’s a splash and fizzle. You hear it again.

 “Dammit! Dammit! No, please! Why?! Why why why why why?! Why can’t I do this?! Please just let me do this?! _Fuck!_ Why can I do this?!” you hear him sob. You hear water dripping and a fizzle at the end of each drip. “Why do I always hurt people? Why do I always hurt people I care about? Why?”

 You roll over, sweat running down you brow suddenly. Kankri is hunched over the water, his head in hands, his hair scrunched between his fingers. He’s crying and the water is streaming with each tear that hits the water. He can barely breath he’s sobbing so hard.

 You crawl next to him and look pitifully at his reflection. His face is scrunched up in an ugly way. You bow your head in shame. This is all your fault.

 You scoop a handful of water and let it run down the burn. It will scar and you can see the ugly redness showing already.

 “Kill me.” You hear him whisper.

 “Wha-“

 “Kill me so I can’t hurt anyone else. Tell Karkat I died in the storm. He’ll not harm you then.”

 “No.”

 “Please!” he hiccups “I can’t keep doing this! I can’t! Everytime I draw close to someone I end up hurting them! Father, mother, Rosa, even Karkat! I can’t deal with it anymore! I don’t want to hurt the people I love anymore.”

 You look at him and the pain in his eyes makes your stomach churn and you actually flinch back. How long has he felt like this? How many people has he hurt unintentionally? How many people actually forgave him for it?

 You suck in a breath painfully before freezing the water and letting the freshly made snow rest against the burn. Kankri coughs, sniffles and looks at you. His yellow and red eyes are raw and wet with tears. You look at him sadly.

 “I deserved that Kankri, don’t worry. I deserved that.”

 “No you didn’t! You didn’t deserve to be hurt!” his sobbing cuts him off.

 “I did. I was scared that if we got together, there would be a coup. You’re not of noble blood and your father was executed for high treason. I couldn’t… I couldn’t lose Eridan again. I almost lost him once because of my stupidity and the thought of losing him again because I couldn’t hold back. I just… I just couldn’t lose my brother.”

 “I have a brother too you know. You could… could have just told me the truth.”

 “Would you rather have known that I wanted to be with you but couldn’t be because of reasons out of our control or that I simply didn’t want to be together with you so you could move on? I know which one I would chose.”

 “I’m not you.”

 “I know.”

 You feel your own tears forming. Kankri leans his head down to the ground and breathes shakily.

 “Kankri? The first thing I ever learned about my powers was that fear hurts and love thaws our powers. Maybe it works the same way with your powers. You’re afraid to hurt others so end up hurting them. If you let your love flow more, maybe you wouldn’t hurt anyone. Maybe… that’s why your brother is able to control his powers, because he loves so much.”

 Kankri looks up at you suddenly. His tears have holted as he leans towards you and moves your hand away. The snow is melting away from your injury which looks raw and red. You pant and cringe as he touches it gently with his warm hand.

 You wonder what he’s doing when he looks up into your eyes. He leans in and kisses you.

 He’s gentle and warm and unsure and this is definitely his first kiss and you definitely don’t give a flying fuck. He presses his hand against the wound he made but it doesn’t hurt, it is actually soothing as the pain fades.

 You find yourself kissing back, you mouth moving to his and eventually your tongue slips out and so does his and you roll him onto his back. You breathe out and steam comes out. Kankri’s is more like smoke. Suddenly, you want this more than anything and the wind is still howling outside so no one will know, they don’t need to.

 You lean down and kiss him again. His hands wrap around your neck and weave into your hair. He is warm enough for both of you and you unbutton his overcoat. He slides his arms out of the sleeves and leans up to kiss you again as he unbuttons yours.

 Before you know what is happen you are shakily pulling your underclothes off and your anatomy is definitely interested in the way Kankri is writhing against it. He’s blotched red over his chest and neck and face. He smiles shyly at you as you strip away the last of you clothes. He’s naked and rubbing between his legs at his ass.

 You kiss his neck and suck gently at the skin there. Kankri sighs at the feeling and chuckles when you nibble his throat. His hands reach up and touch your horn softly when a shiver runs through you and the heat in your groin becomes almost too much. You pant as you collect yourself and if _that_ wasn’t the best near orgasm you’ve ever had you have been lying through your fangs.

 You wanted to suck on Kankri’s dick but this might be a better idea. You lean up and gently let your lips surround one of your lover’s horns. This earns a gasp, shiver and a hand around your penis. Now that’s a response you are happy with.

 Kankri squirms as you suck on his horn and suddenly his jolts and quakes as orgasm hits him suddenly. He moans and pulls on your dick with a lot more force than before. You grin with triumph against his hair and he continues to tuck and massage you.

 You gently reach down and press between his ass cheeks. He pants tiredly but there is still a smile on his lips. You rub against the entrance there. Your lover giggles.

 “Your hands are cold.”

 “Not much I can do about that babe.”

 “’Babe?’ Oh my goodness, I’ve stepped into one of Karkat’s romantic novels.”

 You laugh at him, pressing your finger into him as you did. He gasps but there’s a sharpness to it that isn’t pleasure.

 “Sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you. You’re very dry, maybe if I used the water.”

 You go to reach for a scoop of water when Kankri leans over and splashes you with it “And have freezing cold water against my ass, no thank you.”

 He pauses before grinning at you. He slides into the water and beckons for you to join him.

 “And you were commenting on me being cold, that water must be freezing.”

 “Not with me in it.”

 Now that’s an idea that sounds more appealing. You slide into the water and take him about the waist. The water is warm and it actually feels comfortable to be in it with him. He looks up at you before kissing you again. You lift him up and push him over to the side so you can lift his legs up.

 You press your fingers against his anus again and this time when you slip your finger in, he takes it a lot easier.

 “How does that feel?”

 “…different? It’s very odd.”

 “Like taking a shit?”

 He pulls a face at you. Okay, different it is then.

 His arms are relaxed against your shoulders as you push your finger further and further in. He pants a little towards the end. You pull it back a bit before pushing it back in again. His finger twine with your hair as you pump in; when you push a second finger in he presses his head against your shoulder.

 You can feel his grip tighten as you spread your fingers to open him up further. He gasps as you push a third finger in. You play with him a little more when he nips your neck. You smile and remove your fingers. Kankri gasps again and kisses your cheek as you press against him.

 He’s tight. Tighter than you expected. You grunt, the pressure around your cock is unbearable. Kankri is quaking in your hands, not liking it. You almost stop when suddenly he jerks and moans loudly.

 “Oh goodness, fuck! Cronus, please! Whatever you just did, do it again!”

 You slide out a little and push in again and he practically squeals. Yeah, there’s something good there. You do it again, and again and again until you’re thrusting in and out of Kankri like a professional. He moans and rolls his head back, eyes squeezed shut and claws dragging down your back.

 You love it, he’s tight and warm and there are swirls of ice forming around you but the warm water you are submerged in is still liquid and it spurs you on. You groan deeply as he starts to get tighter, if that’s even possible.

 “Cronus! I-“

 He comes. This time you can feel the spurt of sperm against your stomach. He shivers and tightens around you. You cling to him as he drags you over too. It’s the best kind of pleasure. Even better because it’s him. It’s both of you. And for the first time in your life, you wish you were just a common boy so you could be with him, travel with him, see the world the way he’s seen it.

 You only just manage to lift the two of you out of the water before draping the cloak over you and sleeping.

❅

 “There they are!” Eridan shouts across the field to the cavern. You wave as you guide the horses out. Kankri is tired and has caught a cough somehow, likely down to you being inside of him, so he rests on his horse. Your burn is gone, or at least faded. Apparently fire can’t be thawed but the heat can always cool.

 Your brother tackles you to the ground, ranting how he was so worried about you and why didn’t you tell anyone you were wondering off. Karkat seems to be giving his brother a lighter version of said rant.

 Mituna approaches you “Your Majesty, I trust you are well.”

 “Yeah, it’s not like I’ve not been in a worse storm. The cold doesn’t bother me anyway.” You dismiss him by waving your hand. He frowns before walking back to his horse and telling his son something. He nods and the teen gallops back to the kingdom.

 You mount your horse, catching the end of Karkat talking to Kankri “I take it you two got your shit together and are alright again. Friends again and all that bull.”

 More than friends actually, you think. But Karkat will never know. No one will. This is one relationship that will remain quietly under the snow where no one can harm it and it can’t harm anyone else.

 Besides, you’re good a keeping secrets.


End file.
